What to do with Leftover Rice

Leftover rice.  A friend of mine emailed me this morning letting me know that she's tried several different stir fry variations since reading my blog post about it.  One thing she did ask me was what to do with leftover rice.  I must admit, rice doesn't really last too long at our house, but I did do some research and found a couple of common ideas: rice salad, rice pudding, fried rice, and just freezing it to use later.  I found that I've actually had made all of these ideas, I just hadn't thought to make them using leftover rice.  I just made rice to make the recipe.  Next time we make rice for our stir fry, I might just make extra intentionally!

When it comes to freezing it, most places I've found agree that once the rice is cooled, just put single-serve portions into freezer bags and squeeze as much of the air out as you can.  To reheat, just thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter and heat in a microwave save dish with a touch of water.  It should reheat nicely.

Make a rice salad the way you might make a pasta salad.  Toss with a little italian dressing, fresh herbs and some cooled, steamed veggies.  Or for a southwestern flavor, toss the cold rice with some black beans, diced tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, cumin and lime juice.

For a rice pudding, combine 1 cup rice; 1 1/2 cups of milk (or a little extra); 1/4 cup sugar; small pinch of salt; and 1/4 cup raisins, currants or dried cherries (my fave!) in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and add 1/4 cup raisins, currants or dried cherries (my fave!) and 1/2 t vanilla extract.  Let simmer until milk is absorbed (depends on how dry the rice is to start with.  Once the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy, stir in 1/4 t cinnamon.  Serves 2-3.

For fried rice, this is an interesting and really helpful article to read before diving into frying rice.  Once you've read it, proceed with this easy recipe, prepping completely before starting, as it goes quickly:

Fried Rice
3 c cooked rice
2 eggs
2 carrots (whole, not baby), cut into matchstick-size pieces
2 c finely chopped veggies (maybe some of the same you used for your stir fry last night?)
2 T vegetable oil
1 T minced garlic
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 lb meat (pork, chicken, beef -- leftovers from other meals work really well here, too)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the garlic for a few seconds then add soy sauce and heat until simmering.  Place meat in skillet and cook until meat is cooked through. Add carrots and veggies and cook until almost tender.  Push meat and veggies to the edge of the skillet and crack the eggs into the center of the skillet and scramble them.  Once the eggs are cooked, mix them with the meat and veggies, and toss in the rice.  Stir until heated through and serve.